Meanwhile, the council hall of Spirit City was brightly lit. Bibi Dong sat in the main seat, her fingertips lightly tapping the armrest, the candlelight casting flickering shadows on her face.
"You all saw the performance of those kids in the finals." Bibi Dong's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable sense of pressure. "They're so different from the Soul Master we've seen before; there must be a reason."
Chrysanthemum Douluo bowed slightly. " Your His Holiness the Pope, speaking of this—I've remembered something."
Salas had previously submitted a report to Heaven Dou, but with the finals approaching and too many other matters to attend to, it was delayed and he didn't have time to submit it.
Bibi Dong looked up. "Give it to me."
Chrysanthemum Douluo took out a file from his sleeve and handed it to Bibi Dong with both hands. Bibi Dong unfolded it and quickly scanned the dense text.
Blue Sunshine Academy. Elixirs. The actual strength of most academies during the competition differed significantly from the data collected before the competition.
Bibi Dong continued reading, turning to the next few pages, when her gaze suddenly stopped on a certain spot.
Repairing psychological damage.
Bibi Dong read those lines of text twice, her brows furrowing slightly. She knew all too well what those words meant.
For thousands of years, mental damage has been an incurable disease in the Soul Master World. Once the mental level is damaged, the damage can range from a significant loss of strength to lifelong mental impairment.
No medicine, no Soul Skill, and no Martial Soul can accomplish this.
But in the qualifying rounds, Pill Pavilion's elixirs succeeded.
She turned the page and continued reading. Attached to the report was a record of the participating team members' Soul Power assessments; the data comparison before and after the qualifying rounds was glaringly clear.
After reading the last page, she closed the report and placed it on the corner of the table, then casually pulled out another file—a record of the Soul Ring Configuration of the Godwind Academy's participating team members.
Feng Xiaotian, Shi Yan, Jiang Lin, Su Mei'er... everyone's Soul Ring Configuration were listed above. Her gaze swept over the Fourth Soul Ring column and then stopped.
Ten thousand years. Ten thousand years. Ten thousand years. It's all ten thousand years.
Bibi Dong's finger paused on the paper, her gaze lingering for a moment.
Normally, before the Fifth Soul Ring, it is almost impossible to absorb Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring - when Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast dies, it will unleash a strong mental shock that is enough to destroy the Sea of Consciousness a low-level Soul Master.
Ordinary Soul Master only know the experience that "absorbing Fifth Soul Ring for ten thousand years is the safest," but how could a powerhouse of her level not understand the reasons behind it?
Soul Master at level 40 or so simply lacks the Spiritual Power to withstand the mental shock of Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. This is an ironclad rule recognized throughout the Soul Master World for thousands of years.
But the kids from the Godwind Academy withstood the Fourth Soul Ring steadily. And it wasn't just one of them, it was all of them.
Bibi Dong leaned back in her chair and slowly closed her eyes.
Mental restoration techniques, the absorption of ten thousand years for the Fourth Soul Ring... What the Pill Pavilion possesses is no longer just "elixirs." It's a complete system capable of rewriting the rules of Soul Master cultivation.
But she always felt there was still something hidden.
Suddenly, the scene of Su Mei'er suppressing Yan with fire on the field kept replaying in her mind.
It wasn't a difference in the strength of Soul Power; it was an indescribable sense of suppression emanating from the very Martial Soul Origin.
Bibi Dong opened her eyes and looked at Chrysanthemum Douluo: "Where's Yan?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo was slightly taken aback. " Your His Holiness the Pope, Yan has remained in Spirit City awaiting orders since the finals."
"Call him over," Bibi Dong said. "I want to hear him tell me firsthand what it was like to fight that Wind-Winged Spirit Fox girl."
Chrysanthemum Douluo withdrew upon hearing this, and shortly after, Yan followed him in. He kept his head down, his face still bearing the lingering gloom of the finals defeat. He walked to the center of the hall, stopped, and bowed respectfully. " Your His Holiness the Pope."
Bibi Dong leaned back in her chair, her gaze fixed on him. "Yan, you faced off against Su Mei'er in the finals. Tell me, what was it like?"
Yan remained silent for a few moments before speaking, his voice very low. " Your His Holiness the Pope, my fire... is completely powerless before her."
"Can't exert any force?"
"Yes, my anger is like it's being suppressed." Yan raised his head, his eyes filled with a mixture of resentment and confusion.
When my flames met hers, it was like encountering a natural enemy; the flow of my Soul Power became sluggish.
I can't quite describe the feeling; it's as if my flames were inherently inferior to hers. It wasn't a matter of stronger or weaker Soul Power; it was a suppression of my Martial Soul itself.
"Being suppressed... born inferior?" Bibi Dong's voice was neither high nor low, but it carried a seriousness that commanded respect.
"Yes, Your His Holiness the Pope." Yan clenched her fists. "Submission." Those were the two words that popped into my head. My fire seemed to be... submitting before her.
Submission.
Bibi Dong didn't speak immediately, but pondered those two words in her mind.
Shui Bing'er's Ultimate Ice, Su Mei'er's and Huo Wu's Ultimate Fire —both of these different attributes exhibit the same sense of suppression. This is no coincidence.
She pondered for a moment, then suddenly stood up. " Yue Guan, go to the library and find all the ancient books on elemental attribute classifications and bring them to the council hall."
Chrysanthemum Douluo accepted the order and withdrew.
"You may leave now," Bibi Dong waved her hand at Chong Yan.
Yan bowed and withdrew, the doors to the council chamber closing behind him. The room fell silent, save for the occasional soft popping of the candlelight.
Not long after, Chrysanthemum Douluo returned carrying a stack of ancient books. He gently placed the scrolls on the table and stepped aside, standing with his hands at his sides.
Bibi Dong sat down again, picked up the top scroll and unfolded it. The edges of the animal skin scroll had been worm-eaten in many places, and the ink on it had faded to varying shades of brown.
She turned the pages one by one, her eyes quickly scanning the archaic text.
When she turned to the third volume, her fingers suddenly stopped.
The page contained a diagram—the shape of a tree, divided into four layers from the roots to the crown, each labeled with different text.
The bottom layer reads "Common," followed by "Pure," "Rare," and the very top layer simply says "Ultimate."
Bibi Dong read this page twice, then slowly leaned back in her chair.
It turned out to be the Ultimate Fire and the Ultimate Ice.
She then realized that this Ultimate Attribute appeared in three different academies, and these three academies had formed an alliance. Their common ground was the Pill Pavilion!
Bibi Dong put down the ancient book and her gaze fell on the row of scrolls spread out on the table.
The Nine Heart Begonia's submission, the spirit-restoring elixir obtained by the Blue Sunshine Academy, the entire Godwind Academy's Fourth Soul Ring reaching ten thousand years, the evolution of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and the simultaneous appearance of two Ultimate Attribute—
All the clues combined suggest that this cannot be explained by mere coincidence.
These events occurred at different times and in different places, involving different people and different Martial Soul, but behind them all was the emergence of a force.
That is the Pill Pavilion.
Bibi Dong stared at those two words for a long time, then slowly reached out and took the summary of information about the Pill Pavilion in front of her, opening it to the air.
" Yue Guan."
Your subordinates are at...
Bibi Dong's voice wasn't loud, but each word grew deeper than the last. "All these things that have accumulated are related to the Pill Pavilion. I need you to personally go to Heaven Dou and thoroughly investigate the background of this organization."
Chrysanthemum Douluo bowed and replied, "Yes, Your His Holiness the Pope."
Bibi Dong closed the abstract, tapped her fingertips lightly on the cover, then stood up, walked to the window, opened it, and the night breeze blew in, ruffling the stray hairs at her temples.
She gazed at the myriad lights of Spirit City in the night, her voice not loud, but carrying an undeniable determination.
"An organization capable of all this either becomes the Spirit Hall's sharpest blade—or an obstacle the Spirit Hall must eliminate."
She didn't say anything more.
The night outside the window was deep, and the lights flickered uncertainly in the wind.